Finding Aids

Alfred Hermann Sommer (1909-2003) was a physical chemist who specialized in photoemission research and development. After fleeing from the German Nazi regime and working in London, he immigrated with his family to the United States in 1953. He took a job with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) at its David Sarnoff Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked until 1974. The collection consists of several of Sommer's articles, publications, and patents.

Fred L. Bechly (1924-2004) was an electrical engineer who worked for RCA's Camden, New Jersey, plant, where he aided in the invention of the Tricolor Kinescope Monitor, which became the standard for color television. His papers describe his work with RCA in television and video recording from 1944 to 1983.

RCA’s plant in Harrison, New Jersey was (originally founded in 1882) was acquired by RCA in 1930 and was the company's primary producer of receiving tubes for consumer, industrial, and defense electronics until the plant closed in 1976. The records consist primarily of the papers of engineers Ralph R. Fichtl (1918-2014) and Otto H. Schade, Sr. (1903-1981) on television and receiving tube development. Files include reports, ephemera, photographs, patents, and correspondence on their work and RCA Harrison in general.

Thomas Peter Brody (1920-2011) was a theoretical physicist whose work in tunnel diodes and semiconductor device theory resulted in numerous electronic uses for thin film technology, eventually leading to his invention of active matrix flat panel display technology, or liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. The collection describes Dr. Brody's education, personal and professional character, scientific achievements, business successes and disappointments, as well as personal praise. Included are lecture notes, private and professional correspondence, research studies, patents, contracts, business records, and other documents related to Dr. Brody's career and the development of LCD technology.